Archived material Access restricted Article
Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Thu 04/13/2017 View Wed 04/12/2017 View Tue 04/11/2017 View Mon 04/10/2017 View Sun 04/09/2017 View Sat 04/08/2017 View Fri 04/07/2017
1
2017-04-13 Afghanistan
US drops MOAB on ISIS tunnel complex in Afghanistan
Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.
Posted by DarthVader 2017-04-13 13:07|| || Front Page|| [336158 views ]  Top
 File under: Islamic State 

#1 Avon calling!
Posted by DarthVader 2017-04-13 13:09||   2017-04-13 13:09|| Front Page Top

#2 We used to say this about the MX; "When you care enough to send the very best". The MOAB fits that pretty well.
Posted by Whiskey Mike 2017-04-13 13:18||   2017-04-13 13:18|| Front Page Top

#3 A message really intended for Kim Jong Un?
Posted by Elmerert Hupens2660 2017-04-13 13:25||   2017-04-13 13:25|| Front Page Top

#4 #3 A message really intended for Kim Jong Un?

Of course not...heh
Posted by Frank G 2017-04-13 13:51||   2017-04-13 13:51|| Front Page Top

#5 Blockbuster used to be a drink up so the BLU-43B should be "Let's hang a big one on!".
Posted by 3dc 2017-04-13 14:24||   2017-04-13 14:24|| Front Page Top

#6 "If force doesn't work, try more force."
Posted by g(r)omgoru 2017-04-13 14:24||   2017-04-13 14:24|| Front Page Top

#7 Since it's test was so long ago...
Posted by 3dc 2017-04-13 14:26||   2017-04-13 14:26|| Front Page Top

#8 Always admired Trump's commercial development skills, but now I am really impressed with how he loves to break things, too.
Posted by Nero White 3083 2017-04-13 14:39||   2017-04-13 14:39|| Front Page Top

#9 Like one of my favorite lines from 'Die Hard With a Vengeance' - 'When that thing goes off, be somewhere else.'
Posted by Raj 2017-04-13 14:47||   2017-04-13 14:47|| Front Page Top

#10 I wonder how many ISI cols and generals were in the complex.
Posted by 3dc 2017-04-13 15:03||   2017-04-13 15:03|| Front Page Top

#11 Are the MOAB and daisy cutter the same bomb?
Posted by regular joe 2017-04-13 15:04||   2017-04-13 15:04|| Front Page Top

#12 Daisy cutter is 10,000 lbs or less. Similar explosive slurry.
Posted by 3dc 2017-04-13 15:12||   2017-04-13 15:12|| Front Page Top

#13 No. Daisy cutters are Vietnam-era, I think. They were used to create helicopter landing pads.

The MOAB is used to create helicopter landing craters.
Posted by gorb 2017-04-13 15:12||   2017-04-13 15:12|| Front Page Top

#14 Gorb not just landing pads. The guys I knew who fought there said it was really good before moving into a jungle and tunnel area. Main benefit with an air burst was popped ear drums in the enemy. They couldn't hear you coming and folks in tunnels were jellified by the over pressure. Also it would trigger many of the traps in a tunnel making the tunnel rats life a little bit safer.
Posted by 3dc 2017-04-13 16:01||   2017-04-13 16:01|| Front Page Top

#15 Trump said he was going to bomb the $h!t out of ISIS if elected. These are strong messages to enemies as well as allies.
Posted by JohnQC 2017-04-13 16:33||   2017-04-13 16:33|| Front Page Top

#16 Next, FOESAD bomb?
Posted by JohnQC 2017-04-13 16:52||   2017-04-13 16:52|| Front Page Top

#17 I reckon ear plugs wouldn't make much difference.
Posted by Besoeker 2017-04-13 17:02||   2017-04-13 17:02|| Front Page Top

#18 Thanks for the clarification. Sounds like the MOAB is 2x the size (who says I'm too pretty to do math?) and is pretty effective for clearing out the desert rats.
Posted by Regular joe 2017-04-13 17:59||   2017-04-13 17:59|| Front Page Top

#19 Omar comin' !!
Posted by Ebbang Peacock2676 2017-04-13 18:26||   2017-04-13 18:26|| Front Page Top

#20 Knock, knock!
Posted by Procopius2k 2017-04-13 18:42||   2017-04-13 18:42|| Front Page Top

#21 "Reach out and vaporize someone.."
Posted by Warthog 2017-04-13 19:52||   2017-04-13 19:52|| Front Page Top

#22 "Good Morning Afghanistan!"

(well good for us....)
Posted by CrazyFool 2017-04-13 20:18||   2017-04-13 20:18|| Front Page Top

#23 Tanya the Evil would give this thumbs up.
They should have used her little girl voice to warn the Twats to leave or dropped warning leaflets in German about 15 minutes before the attack.
Posted by Jeasing Creque5352 2017-04-13 20:23||   2017-04-13 20:23|| Front Page Top

#24 I can see how an airburst adjacent to a cave with a funnel shaped mouth would cause one hell of a pressure wave for a considerable distance in the cave.
Posted by phil_b 2017-04-13 20:30||   2017-04-13 20:30|| Front Page Top

#25 Although the reverse, a small entrance opening to a large cavern would limit it's effectiveness. And I doubt they had info on the configuration of the cave.

Primarily a message to the Fat Un and others.
Posted by phil_b 2017-04-13 20:38||   2017-04-13 20:38|| Front Page Top

#26 Maybe they should have kept a few of these in inventory
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-12_Cloudmaker
Posted by Cheaderhead 2017-04-13 20:46||   2017-04-13 20:46|| Front Page Top

#27 
Posted by Glomock Bourbon1209 2017-04-13 21:22||   2017-04-13 21:22|| Front Page Top

#28 Intel guy on Fox said it would have collapsed the tunnels which are closer to the surface and ruined entries. Rubbled them. Deeper tunnels, unknown. Called it an area denial weapon in this use.
In VN, it turned out that two right angles in a tunnel stopped the blast front and sent it back out. That's why they used gasoline vaopor. It would go all through the tunnel and then you could light it.
Posted by Richard Aubrey  2017-04-13 23:07||   2017-04-13 23:07|| Front Page Top

23:47 Zenobia Floger6220
23:07 Richard Aubrey
22:18 SteveS
21:22 Glomock Bourbon1209
21:19 Frank G
20:50 M. Murcek
20:46 Cheaderhead
20:43 phil_b
20:38 phil_b
20:30 phil_b
20:28 Cheaderhead
20:25 Jeasing Creque5352
20:23 Jeasing Creque5352
20:18 CrazyFool
20:16 Procopius2k
19:52 Warthog
19:36 JohnQC
19:35 swksvolFF
19:32 swksvolFF
19:26 phil_b
18:42 Procopius2k
18:26 Ebbang Peacock2676
18:10 rjschwarz
18:08 rjschwarz









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com